Editorial: Keep public in loop during water talks

The good news is that the Public Utilities Commission is headed into formal settlement discussions over Cal Am's desalination proposal.

The PUC handles important matters as if they were lawsuits. There is sworn testimony, judges of a sort, principal parties, intervenors and something akin to out-of-court settlement talks.

The start of settlement talks soon, perhaps by the end of the month, could be a sign that California American Water and the various parties, such as the Peninsula water management district and the mayors' water authority, have a decent chance of agreeing soon on a workable financing, construction and operational plan.

That's good news because without development of a new Peninsula water source ASAP, there is an increasing chance that a state order will take effect dramatically curtailing our use of Carmel River water by 2017. Damage to the economy would be huge.

There are numerous alternatives to Cal Am's big desalination plan, some very attractive. But none is as far along as Cal Am's plan. If progress on that plan prompts stepped-up action on the other fronts, so much the better.

The bad news is this: The settlement talks, by PUC rule, will be held in private under serious confidentiality rules.

As some will recall, it was private settlement talks that led to the earlier regional desalination project, a spectacular failure that sought to pair Cal Am and the Marina Coast Water District to provide exceedingly expensive water to Peninsula residents who were to have no say in the deal.

We would be urging the public to make a giant fuss about the coming secrecy if we thought there was any chance an open process might result. Experience with the PUC has taught us otherwise, however. The PUC seems to prefer private discussions because dealing with the public can be such a bother.

We encourage the PUC to worry less about expediency and to ensure that the topics discussed under a cloak be as limited as possible. The commission also should make it clear that confidential talks do not amount to a general gag order on desalination or the Peninsula's water shortage.

During the private talks that led to the ill-fated regional project, the mayors signed sweeping confidentiality agreements without any real resistance and then took advantage of the political cover that resulted. No one really took any blame for the disastrous Plan A.

To avoid similar results now, participants in this Plan B process need to fight hard to keep the public in the loop and to protect the public's right to weigh in whenever possible. It might not benefit the participants, but it certainly could help the public.